The Darkman - The Kyle/Cassandra angle from YJDF was my idea. Kinda got the idea from when Cassandra had a thing from Superboy in the comics.
Eric - The idea of Batman not wanting the team to go all 'REVENGE!' actually came from what he said about not wanting Robin to end up like him. Kinda a 'don't make my mistakes' thing he has. And yes, poor, poor Pluto.
Black Victor Chachat - Yes, more of Tim will come about in the story, next episode as I still have the secret patrol he and his friends are going on. And thanks for liking the romance angle. I feel as if it's a weaker subject for me to write overall and am trying to get better at it like the action and drama.
Missvivibleninja - It's a coincidence two are named Edward. I actually didn't notice that until you pointed it out. :)
2.
Atlantis
July 9
14:37 UTC
Deep beneath the ocean's surface, the red and blue Martian bioship sliced through the waters of the Atlantic. Passing schools of fish, sharks, and whales, the small group neared their destination, the beautiful city known as Atlantis, kingdom of Aquaman. It was a sight very few were able to see with their own eyes, even fewer than those who have traveled to Themyscira. While its inhabitants were the only ones able to live there, there were exceptions like Kryptonians and Martians who were able to survive both the icy cold and high pressure of being so deep.
"It looks as beautiful as ever," M'gann said from her spot in the pilot's chair.
"Yes," Kaldur responded. "It did not take us long to rebuild most of the city and the surrounding areas. Unlike on land, building structures here is much easier without the burden of gravity adding too much to it."
"I'd imagine."
With the bioship traveling along a warm water current over the great underwater city, the two adult occupants saw just how much had been rebuilt since the Apokalypse invasion. Temples were once again accepting people into their halls, schools for sorcery and science were again busy with those wanting to learn, and large circular buildings were standing tall to house the water dwelling people of the city. Stone, coral, both were used to make the once great city even greater than it was for its people. Light of red, yellow, blue, and purple proudly displayed everything around the city, making it easy for the two teammates to see where they were heading to.
"Since Darkseid's attacks, more soldiers have been positioned around the city. While everything is the way it has always been, there are some places the public cannot enter now as they were too heavily damaged. That is why we are to head to the eastern docking area specifically made for the Justice League's or her sister team's ships. I only wish the Zeta Beam technology was not destroyed during the war. Unfortunately, that takes a great deal of time to construct down here and my king has been dealing with much higher priorities as of late. Still, they are nearly complete."
"You don't have to explain anything, Kaldur. Aquaman's first priority will always be Atlantis. I doubt anyone will wish for anything different."
Passing large Romanesque pillars and a vibrantly colored garden full of florescent underwater plants that would take hours to describe, M'gann guided her ship to where Kaldur directed and docked it where several soldiers signaled her to go.
Once docked, the black ops team leader stood the moment the living ship receded the chair straps holding him in place. Popping his back, he turned to see M'gann and Carter had both shrunken several inches from the pressure. "May I ask, what are you going to do with Carter? Has he learned to shape shift?"
Picking up a bag and her son from the child's seat her ship formed near her, M'gann took a few steps toward Kaldur while having her cape recede and growing gills on her neck. "That he has. I've been working with him in the ocean. He can form gills and shift his legs into a tail. He just needs to see he'll be underwater."
"It is a survival instinct?"
"Sort of. I showed him how to form working gills and a tail. After a few minutes floating in the water, he had his legs resemble a seahorse's tail. Getting his gills to work was the hard part but after showing him step by step telepathically, he finally got it."
Having the bottom of the ship open a small hole, M'gann sent a mental message to her son as Kaldur dove into the water. Floating over the hole and lowering herself slowly, the Martian woman smiled as Carter formed his seahorse tail, a small back fin, and grew gills the closer he got to the water. Once completely submerged, his mother held him by the hand as he tried swimming beside her. Kaldur had to laugh at the sight of the child as he remembered seeing young Atlanteans in the same situation with their parents.
It did not take long for the three to reach the center of Atlantis where the palace was located. It was one of the first buildings repaired after the war along with the hospitals. Where once visitors would be free to venture where they wanted to freely, Kaldur and M'gann were approached by a small squad of guards almost immediately after leaving her ship. Since they were expected and worked with the Justice League, they were granted more freedoms than others.
"Kaldur'ahm!" Heading down a long white hallway with a gold colored carpet running down the length of it, a smiling Queen Mera and two royal guards greeted Aqualad.
"Greetings, my queen." Bowing slightly, Kaldur took the traditional route when meeting his king's wife who waited for him to raise his head before extending her arms and gathering him in a hug.
With the two separating and quickly catching up, a small blond headed boy swam up to the queen. "Mom? Who are they?"
Looking down at the boy, Queen Mera had him come forward so the others could see him clearly. "Arthur, you know Kaldur'ahm. These are his friends, Mrs. Martian and her son, Carter."
"Prince Arthur," Kaldur greeted. "It is nice to see you again."
"Hi," M'gann said. "It's nice to finally meet you, Ar, Prince Arthur."
"H, hi." Backing up slightly, Arthur stepped closer to his mother.
"He's a little shy around new people," Queen Mera smiled. "Orin's still overseeing the construction of Atlantis but he should be back after his current mission. In the meantime, the city is yours to explore with any and all reference to what you are looking for at your disposal. The only request I have of you is to not enter the western reefs. They were hit the hardest and are still growing where we have replaced them."
"Yes, your majesty," Kaldur responded. "We are really only looking for La'gaan as he may have some information for us on the dagger's inscriptions."
"Indeed he has. I have translated them as best I could. From what I can understand, it calls for souls. The rest, La'gaan may have more information on as he-ohh." Pressing a hand to her head, Queen Mera blinked several times. "What is that?"
"Is something wrong?" Kaldur asked.
"Pictures. Pictures of Arthur and...fish. Lots of fish, clownfish."
"Oh, I am so sorry." Using her telepathy, M'gann severed the link Carter had with Queen Mera. "My son doesn't speak yet so he sends mental pictures on what he wants to say." She looked down at the seahorse tailed infant. "I wanted him to see Atlantis and I guess he wants to play and see the aquatic life around here."
"That's...okay. It's just, I was surprised at what I was seeing." Looking at the infant in M'gann's arms, the Atlantean queen snickered. "He will be taken care of like my own son and I'll be happy to take him to see the marine life around the city."
Reaching out, Queen Mera took Carter with Arthur giving the child a look over. "Why's his eyes red?" the prince asked.
"He's part Martian but his Kryptonian side won't allow that part of him to change. I hope he won't be a bother." Handing over the bag of Carter's things, M'gann saw Queen Mera shake her head.
"It won't be a problem. I was going to take Arthur to the sorcery training hall to practice his constructs. I'm sure Carter will enjoy seeing that as well." With the hybrid infant in her arms, Queen Mera blinked her eyes again. "I think he wants to see a turtle."
"He likes turtles."
Carter then had his skin change to match the queen's.
"That's some trick," Queen Mera said. "Does he do that often?"
"Only with people he likes or wants to go with." M'gann told her. "And if he turns his skin to match a fish, it might mean he wants to touch it."
"Not a problem. I'll let you two be on your way now. You can find La'gaan near the ship yards to the south east of the city. I had a guard inform him of your pending arrival."
"My thanks, Queen Mera. We should not be long. It all depends on what La'gaan has found for us." With a slight bow, Kaldur swam upwards as M'gann gave a bow of her own.
"And thank you for wanting to look after him while we're on our business."
"The Pleasure is all mine, M'gann. I'm sure Arthur and I will have fun with this cutie."
After sending her son a mental equivalent of a kiss, M'gann and Kaldur headed for their rendezvous with their former team member while Queen Mera and Arthur took Carter with them into the palace.
"Mom," Arthur said as he swam along side his mother who was holding Carter by the hand so he may have some practice swimming with his small fin flapping rapidly on his back. "He looks funny with the seahorse tail and back fin."
To this, Carter shot him a raspberry.
Titan Tower
July 9
14:49 UTC
Sitting in front of the large TV in the living area of the tower, Conner was going over the information Kaldur left him on the flash drive. He, Dick, and Barbara had nearly filled the storage device's eight gigabyte memory with documents, photos, and videos. It was insane how much information they turned up since the mission to South America, but that was what training from Batman awarded them, insane attention to detail.
While cycling through screen after screen of information, Raven made her way into the living area on her way to the kitchen. Grabbing a glass and filling it with grape juice, she took a sip as she reached for an apple on the counter when she saw what Conner was studying. Normally she would not care to disturb either of the Titan leaders during an investigation but something caught her eye this time around. It was a symbol etched in blood on a stone wall that drew her attention Conner had moved to the side of the screen. Underneath it were details on what it was with a name typed above them.
Staring at the name and symbol, she saw five bullet points with riddles written out. Next to them were the names, Eddie Bloomburg, Edward Nigma, and Lilith Clay with question marks beside the first two names. Notes on what Kaldur discovered about Lilith were highlighted as Conner continued going over the information when an image of the computer rendered dagger appeared.
With all the notes he thought were more important over the others, Conner leaned forward on the couch and scratched his chin. The small amount of stubble he had from the past day reminded him he needed a shave if he were to see Ma and Pa Kent. Of everyone, it was Ma Kent who made sure he was clean shaven whenever possible, everyone else seemed to like the small amount of facial hair on him.
As his eyes shifted from image to image, he heard the sound of something hitting the ground and landing with a thud. A second sound came from behind him and he was surprised to see Raven staring at him with wide eyes and her mouth open.
"Raven?" the Titan leader asked once he saw the look on her face and her glass of juice puddled around her feet. "What's wrong?"
Following her gaze, he saw she was not looking at him, but at the screen. Turning back, he saw what he left on the TV and got up rather quickly. "Raven?"
Shaking her head, the Goth girl had a far away look in her eyes. Backing up, she turned and flew down the hallway, leaving her mess and Conner behind.